Our Servant Solutions members and their churches and other ministry employers do a great job saving for retirement. As you know, we specialize in Retirement and Financial Planning. We have plenty of tools, experience, and expertise to help you make the most of every dollar.
But all your good planning, budgeting, and investing work can be upset quickly when one of the many hazards of life hits you. Especially if you haven’t properly addressed your risks with both emergency savings and the proper insurance policies.
You can’t prevent all disasters, but protecting your family and the assets they will need is an important step in your financial planning. And it’s a step that needs to be taken more than once. Your exposure to risk changes many times over the years. Regular reviews—especially when births, deaths, moves and job changes happen—are critical to your financial security.
Briefly, here are the five critical insurance policies everyone needs to have:
1. Health insurance. It doesn’t matter that you are young and healthy. Or that your family has no history of disease. One accident or exposure to a virus can change your life. Expenses go up while your ability to earn an income may go down. Shop your employer’s offerings and what you can afford on your own if none is available at work.
2. Homeowner’s/Renter’s insurance. Don’t just shop for the lowest price. Work with a reputable, experienced agent to evaluate the needs for your home in your geographic area. And renters, remember that your landlord’s insurance will not adequately protect you and your property. Nor will it pay for any costs arising from your negligence.
3. Auto insurance. If you drive, you create the risk of loss for yourself and, more importantly, for others. Again, don’t shop for the lowest premiums. Shop first for the coverages and limits you need. Then make agents compete to meet those needs.
4. Life insurance. Who depends on you and your income to meet their needs? Your spouse? Children? Parents or other dependents? A business partner? Do a full needs analysis and consider all sources of assets and income available if you were not there to help with the bills.
5. Long-term disability. Yes, the prospect of living in an impaired way and unable to work and earn an income is frightening. But we ignore the possibility to our peril. Some of this coverage may be offered by your employer, but only a full analysis with a trusted agent can help you identify current trends and costs to determine if an additional policy is needed.
It’s no fun to write checks for insurance premiums. We can all find more satisfying things to do with our limited budget dollars. But don’t let one accident, one illness, or one storm rob you of the assets you have saved and invested towards your retirement and other goals. Ask your friends and trusted mentors for the names of trusted insurance professionals. Then review your risk exposures and gain peace of mind by being properly insured.